Self-checkout register lanes were closed at the Walmart location in Southeast Fresno Thursday morning. Photo by Ben Hensley

Despite social media rumors that Walmart is going to require customers to pay to use self-checkout registers, the retailer told The Business Journal that isn’t the case.

Walmart shoppers across the U.S. have taken to the web with stories about finding their local Walmart self-checkouts blocked. It’s not related to the rollout of the Walmart+ membership program.

Walmart Press Office – Global Communications Director Joe Pennington said the closure of self-checkout lanes in stores across the country is based on individual store manager decisions — not top-down orders from Walmart’s corporate headquarters.

“Not every store is going to look the same – probably even within Fresno and the Valley – there’s going to be different solutions at every different store because the manager has been given discretion,” Pennington said.

Pennington added that manager decisions to open or close self-checkout registers will vary on a number of factors including foot traffic and staffing levels.

Pennington pointed out reports that managers are receiving stock equity in Walmart with the expectation they will operate the stores with an owner’s mindset.

“This is one more of those things; this is their decision to make. You run the store as you see fit [and] it’s going to look different in different places.”

Fresno Walmart stores appear to be following different procedures related to self-checkout. The Walmart Supercenter at Shaw and Brawley avenues was maintaining around half of their self-checkout lanes Thursday morning, while the store at Kings Canyon Road and Peach Avenue had no self-checkout lanes open.

According to an employee at the Kings Canyon location, this is being done due to retail theft, with around three self-checkout registers open during peak hours; these three registers, however, are also staffed by a Walmart employee for added security.

“From time-to-time, our stores adjust the use of staffed checkouts and self-checkouts. For example, a store might start or end the day with staffed checkouts,” a statement from Walmart reads. “As the number of shoppers and associate staffing increases, these stores open self-checkout registers to manage the increased customer flow. This process isn’t new.”

Speaking about the new Walmart+ lane rollouts, Pennington said that many stores are adding options for customers who take advantage of the subscription service to check out items as they shop prior to paying at a kiosk at the front of the store.

This new option will grant shoppers freedom to scan items on their Walmart App from anywhere in the store to add to their bill, speeding up the checkout process and reducing the number of shoppers standing in line near the front of stores.